Saints and sprinters
line up for St Ronan’s

With the pomp and ceremony of Jedburgh all but a distant memory, the Border Games bandwagon rolls into Innerleithen this weekend for the oldest organised sports meeting in Scotland.

Instituted in 1827, St Ronan’s Border Games are now part of a 10-day festival that incorporates many events for every age group.

But it’s the meeting at Victoria Park on Saturday that local athletes are focussing on.

Ron Sutherland (33m) will be representing his hometown in the showcase 110m sprint, but faces some tough opposition in heat seven with Hawick’s Ryan Elliot (6.5m) and Jed AC’s Scott Elliot (15m) both looking to take the honours.

Jedburgh’s Craig Gillan (3.5m) finds himself running from the back of the pack in heat three, following his valiant victory at Riverside Park last week, and he has Scott Richardson (7.5m), Jed AC, Colin Bruce (12m), Selkirk, Drew Bryson (23m), Hawick, and fellow TLJT runner Craig Smith (9m) to contend with.

Another home boy hoping to shine is distance star Dean Whiteford who runs from 175m in the 1,600m.

Racing begins at 2pm, with other senior and youths’ events making up the card.